Well pumping and formation treating apparatus



3,4 1 4,05 7 WELL PUMPING AND FORMATION TREATING APPARATUS 2, 1966 Dec.3, 1968 D. T. HARBISON Filed Dec. 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTQRNEYS FlGB 45 DixonT. Harbison do w F|G.2 mww FIG. I

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WELL PUMPING AND FORMATION TREATING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 2 L r3 V 23 i g ,5 4k FIG.5 e2

/ 0 INVENTOR Dixon T. HorbisonA T FIG.8BY

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,414,057 WELL PUMPING AND FORMATIONTREATING APPARATUS Dixou'T. Harbison, P.O. Box 2477, Fort Worth, Tex.76101 Filed Dec. 2, 1966, Ser. No. 598,721 3 Claims. (Cl. 166-105)ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A well pumping and formation treatingapparatus which permits the injection of treating fluids without theremoval of the apparatus from the well whereby the pumping operation maybe resumed as soon as the productivity of the formation is increased toa sufficient extent.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatuses forpumping wells and treating oil bearing formations.

As is well known, the productivity of substantially all oil bearingformations gradually decreases until it becomes uneconomical to continuethe extraction of oil therefrom and this is particularly true when theformations are being produced through pumping wells. This decrease inproductivity is due to a number of factors, usually clogging of theinterstices or pores of the formations, and occurs before depletion ofthe oil. It is standard procedure to treat oil bearing formations forincreasing the productivity thereof by injecting various fluids into theformations and these fluids include acids, other chemicals, detergents,gaseous compositions, steam, liquids, hot water or water containingsoluble oil or a microemulsion. Also, it is common practice to utilizeone or more of a group of wells as injection wells for driving the oilin a common formation toward other wells of the group. In addition tothis type of secondary recovery method which is known as waterflooding,tertiary production has been made possible by the injection of watercontaining soluble oil or a microernulsion.

'Heretofore, when fluids have been injected into a pumping well fortreating the oil bearing formation adjacent thereto increase theproductivity of said formation and/ or for driving the oil in saidformation toward other wells, it has been necessary to remove thepumping apparatus from the well in order to permit the passage of theinjected fluids. The necessity for this relatively expensive and timeconsuming operation, which requires special equipment and personnel, iseliminated by the novel structure of this invention which permits theinjection of treating fluids without removal of the pumping apparatus.In carrying out the invention, a conventional pump assembly of the typehaving a seating nipple for sealing engagement with a holddown shoe isutilized whereby the pump plunger and working barrel of the assembly maybe lowered and positioned within a well tubing or other conductor on thelower end of a pump rod. The pump assembly may have a stationary or areciprocable working barrel and has its normally stationary member,either its barrel or its plunger, slidably connected to its seatingnipple whereby said assembly may undergo limited movement relative tosaid nipple. The slidable connection includes valve means forcontrolling communication between the portions of the well conductorabove and below the seating nipple and allowing the injected fluids tobypass said the stationary member of the pump assembly and is openednipple. The valve means is held closed by the weight of upon apredetermined upward movement of said member with said assembly wherebytreating fluids injected into the well conductor may flow around thepump assembly Patented Dec. 3, 1968 and through the valve means into theportion of the conductor below the seating nipple. Upon completion ofthe treatment, it is only necessary to lower the pump assembly so as toclose the valve means in order to resume the pumping operation.

Summary of the invention A pump assembly having a plunger member and acoacting working barrel member adapted to undergo relative reciprocationby means of a pump rod which is connected to one of the members andwhich is utilized for lowering the assembly into a well conductor havingmeans for supporting said assembly. Seating means depends from and isslidably connected to the assembly for sealing engagement with thesupporting means whereby said assembly may undergo limited upwardmovement relative to the seating means when the latter is engaged withsaid supporting means. The slidable connection includes valve means forcontrolling communication between the portions of the well conductorabove and below the seating means and for allowing the injection oftreating fluids past said seating means. The valve means is held closedby the weight of the assembly and is opened by upward movement of saidassembly relative to the seating means whereby the treating fluids mayflow around said assembly and through said valve means into theconductor below said seating means. In order to resume the pumpingoperation, it is only necessary to lower the pump assembly so as toclose the valve means.

If desired, the pump rod as well as the pump plunger may be tubularwhereby said rod may be employed to conduct the injected fluids to thepump assembly. Lateral openings may be provided in the tubular plungerand working barrel for communication with each other when the pumpassembly undergoes upward movement relative to the seating means wherebythe injected fluids may flow from said assembly into the well conductorand through the valve means past and seating means.

It is noted that the predetermined upward movement of the pump assemblyrelative to its seating nipple required to open the valve means isinsufficient to unseat said nipple and that neither said valve means northe slidable connection interferes with the normal movement of thereciprocable member of said assembly relative to its stationary member.In the event that the pump .rod as well as the pump plunger is tubular,said rod may be employed to conduct the injected fluids to the pumpassembly. Lateral openings are provided in the tubular plunger andworking barrel and are adapted to communicate when the pump assemblyundergoes the predetermined upward movement relative to its seatingnipple whereby the injected fluids may flow from said assembly into theWell conductor and then through the valve means past said nipple. Ifdesired, the well conductor may be provided with an upstanding portionabove its surface connections for housing the pump assembly includingits seating nipple in the event that the well commences to flow due tothe injection of the treating fluids. Pumping of the well may be resumedupon repositioning of the pump assembly within the well conductor.

A construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafterdescribed, together with other features of the invention.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings,wherein examples of the invention are shown, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view, partly broken away, ofa well pumping and treating apparatus constructed in accordance with theinvention and mounted in a well conductor with the valve means beingclosed,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged, transverse, vertical sectional view, partlybroken away, of the lower portion of the apparatus and conductor withthe valve means closed,

FIG. 3 is a view, similar to FIG. 1, with the pump assembly raised andthe valve means opened,

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to FIG. 2, of the upper portion of theapparatus with the pump assembly raised and the valve means opened,

FIG. 5 is an enlarged, sectional view showing the engagement of the pumpplunger with a stop shoulder of the working barrel,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, sectional view showing the lateral openings ofthe pump plunger and working barrel in communication,

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the upperportion of the apparatus and an upstanding extension of the conductorfor housing said apparatus, and

FIG. 8 is a view, similar to FIG. 7, showing the apparatus housingwithin the upstanding extension of the conductor.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a conventional well casingadapted to be cemented in a well bore (not shown) in the usual mannerand having a tubing head 11 (FIG. 7) at its upper end for suspending awell tubing 12 in the casing. If desired, the tubing may be cemented inthe well bore and utilized as the casing for communicating directly withthe formation. A pump or sucker rod 13, which may be tubular as shown,depends through the tubing 12 for supporting the tubular plunger 14 of apump assembly 15 (FIGS. l-4). The tubing projects above the tubing head11 for supporting a blowout preventer 16 and pumping T 17 and, inaccordance with the invention, has a shutoff valve 18 mounted thereinabove the pumping T. An upstanding joint or section of tubing 19 may beconnected to the upper end of the valve 18 and is of sufficient lengthto house the pump assembly 15 (FIG. 8) and permit closing of the valvewhen the use of said pump assembly is not required. Usually, the upperend portion of the pump rod 13 is in the form of a polished rod 20,which may be tubular, for coacting with an oil saver or stripper 21mounted on the upper end of the upstanding tubing section 19.

The pump assembly is shown most clearly in FIGS. 1-4 and includes anelongate, cylindrical working barrel 22 for coacting with the plunger 14and having at its upper end a guide bonnet 23 through which the pump rodis slidable. As shown by the numeral 24, the lower portion of the guidebonnet 23 is enlarged for screwthreaded connection with the barrel 22and, when the pump rod is solid, is laterally ported so as tocommunicate with the tubing 12 as well as said barrel. Communication ofthe upper end of the working barrel with the tubing is unnecessary whenthe pump rod is tubular. A standing valve 25 is mounted on the lower endof the barrel 22 and includes a blind cage 26 screwthreaded into saidbarrel and having an annular, upwardly-facing valve seat 27 for coactingwith a valve ball 28 to permit the flow of well fluids into said barrelupon the upstroke of the plunger and to prevent such flow upon thedownstroke of said plunger.

For retaining the valve seat 27 in the valve cage 26, a collar 29 isscrewthreaded in the lower end of said cage and has a cylindrical tube30 depending therefrom for suspending a cylindrical slide valve 31within a coacting, complementary valve sleeve 32 (FIGS. l-3). The slidevalve 31 has an axial bore 33 communicating with the tube 30 forpermitting the upward flow of well fluids from the lower portion of thetubing through said tube to the working barrel 22 and is adapted tocontrol fiow through radial ports 34 formed in the lower portion of thevalve sleeve 32. Radial, pressure-equalizing ports 35 are provided inthe upper portion of the valve sleeve immediately below a circular plate36 which closes the upper end of said sleeve and through which the tubeis slidable. Upon upward movement of the slide valve relative to thevalve sleeve 32, which movement is limited by the plate 36, the ports 34are opened to permit flow from the tubing 12 into said sleeve as shownby the arrows in FIG. 3.

An annular seating nipple 37 is mounted on the lower end of the valvesleeve for engagement with a cylindrical holddown shoe 38 connected inthe lower portion of the tubing and having formed therein an annular,upwardlyfacing, inclined seat 39 spaced above an annular, downwardlyfacing shoulder 40 (FIGS. 13). The seating nipple 37 includes a topcollar 41 having its upper end screwthreaded in the valve sleeve 32 soas to bear against an annular, internal shoulder 42, a cylindrical body43 screwthreaded into the lower end of the collar for depending throughthe annular seat 39 of the shoe 38, and an elastic packing member 44secured on the upper portion of the body below said collar. As bestshown in FIG. 2, the packing member 44 has an external, tapered lowerend surface 45 for complementary engagement with the seat of the shoe toseal off therebetween and the lower portion of the body 43 is bifurcatedto provide a pair of depending, resilient elements 46 having externalenlargements 47 on their extremities for detachable locking engagementwith the shoulder 40 of said shoe. In addition to resting on the annularshoulder 42 at the lower end of the valve sleeve 32 so as to support theworking barrel 22 of the pump assembly 15, the slide valve 31 has a snugflt within said valve sleeve for coacting with its weight and the weightof said working barrel to resist upward movement of said barrel uponupward reciprocation of the plunger 14 of said pump assembly.

The tubular pump plunger is in the form of a cylindrical tube having asnug sliding fit in the working barrel, the exterior of said plunger andthe interior of said barrel being polished to facilitate reciprocationof said plunger. As shown most clearly in FIG. 4, a coupling 48 isscrewthreaded in the upper end of the plunger 14 and has its upper endscrewthreaded in the lower end of an adapter 49 which has the lower endof the pump rod 13 screwthreaded into its reduced upper end. When thepump rod is solid, the adapter 49 has large lateral openings 50 in itsenlarged lower portion for establishing communication between the barrel22 and the interior of the plunger in the usual manner, the diameter ofsaid adapter being less than the internal diameter of the barrel.Manifestly, the lateral openings 50 would interfere with the lifting ofthe well fluids through a tubular pump rod. A travelling valve 51 iscarried by the lower end of the plunger 14 and includes a blind cage 52screwthreaded into said plunger and having an annular, upwardly-facingvalve seat 53 retained therein for coacting with a valve ball 54 topermit upward flow into and prevent downward flow out of said plunger.When the pump rod is tubular, the plunger has an external, annulargroove or recess 55 intermediate its end communicating with radial ports56 in said plunger and adapted to communicate with radial ports 57 inthe upper portion of the working barrel when said plunger is disposed insaid barrel portion (FIGS. 3, 4 and 6). This communication is notrequired when the pump rod is solid.

In operation, the pump plunger 14 is reciprocated within the workingbarrel 22 by the pump rod 13 to draw well fluids through the standingvalve 25 into said barrel upon the upstroke and to force said fluidsthrough the travelling valve 51 and into and through said plunger uponits downstroke for lifting upon its next downstroke. The lifted wellfluids pass through the openings 50 of the plunger adapter 49 into theworking barrel and through the ports of the guide bonnet 23 into thetubing 12 in the usual manner. When the pump rod is tubular, the plungeradapter has no lateral openings so as to permit lifting of the wellfluids through said rod.

Due to the construction of the pump assembly 15 including its slidevalve 31 and valve sleeve 32, said assembly facilitates the treating ofthe oil bearing formation of a well to increase the productivitythereof. This treatment involves the injection of suitable fluids, suchas acids, other chemicals, detergents, gaseous compositions, steam,liquids, hot water or water containing soluble oil or a microemulsion,into the formation adjacent the well for acting upon said formationand/or for deriving well fluids toward other wells in secondary ortertiary recovery methods. When it is desired to inject a fluid orfluids, the pump rod .13 is raised until the plunger adapter 49 strikesan annular, internal, downwardly-facing shoulder 58 on the lower end ofthe guide bonnet 23 (FIGS. 4 and 5) whereby the working barrel 22 islifted upon continued upward movement of said pump rod. As shown in FIG.3, the slide valve 31 moves upwardly with the working barrel so as touncover the ports 34 in the lower portion of the valve sleeve 32 andestablish communication between the interior of said sleeve and thetubing 12 above the seating nipple 37 and the coacting holddown shoe 38.When the pump plunger 14 has the external, annular groove 55 and ports56 and the barrel 22 has the ports 57, the interior of said plungercommunicates directly with the tubing in the uppermost position of saidplunger.

In the event that the pump rod 13 is tubular as shown, the fluid to beinjected may be introduced through said rod and/ or the tubing 12 andconducted through the ports 56 and 57 into said tubing. From the latter,the injected fluid flows through the ports 34 into the valve sleeve 32for passage through the seating nipple 37 into the lower portion of thetubing below the holddown shoe 38. Injection through the tubular pumprod is desirable when the treating fluid is relatively expensive andnecessitates the minimum use thereof. When the pump rod is solid ornontubular, the groove 55 and ports 56 and 57 are not required since theinjected fluid is introduced only through the tubing and bypasses theseating nipple and holddown shoe by means of the valve sleeve ports inthe manner described; however, it is readily apparent that the provisionof said groove 55 and ports 56 and 57 does not interfere with the use ofa solid or nontubular rod. Accordingly, either type of pump rod may beemployed with the pump assembly 15 in carrying out the invention.

Since the upstanding joint or section of tubing 19 is of sufiicientlength to house the entire pump assembly 15 including its seating nipple37, said assembly may be raised until said seating nipple is disposedabove the shutoff valve 18 as shown in FIG. 8. Only a predeterminedforce is required to disengage the enlargement 47 of the resilientelements 46 from the shoulder 40 of the holddown shoe 38 and permit thispositioning of the pump assembly, which positioning is desirable whenthe injected fluid causes the producing formation to flow of its ownaccord due to the cleansing or loosening of said formation whereby thegas pressure is suflicient to lift the well fluids. Whenever desirableor necessary, the pump assembly 15 may be readily lowered to theposition shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and pumping of the well resumed. Ofcourse, the pump assembly may be readily removed in the event that thewell continues to flow since it is only necessary to position saidassembly within the tubing section 19, close the shutofl valve anddisconnect said tubing section from said valve. It is noted that theinvention is not limited to well pumps having stationary working barrelssince it is well known to reciprocate working barrels relative tostationary pump plungers. In applying this invention to a pump of thelatter type, the plunger rather than the barrel is slidably connected tothe seating nipple of the pump.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof andvarious changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in thedetails of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope ofthe appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A well pumping and formation treating apparatus including a pumpassembly having a plunger member and a coacting working barrel memberadapted to undergo relative reciprocation, a pump rod connected to oneof the members for reciprocating the same relative to the other memberof said pump assembly and for lowering said assembly into a wellconductor having means for supporting said assembly, seating meansdepending from said assembly for sealing engagement with the supportingmeans, means slidably connecting the seating means and assembly forpermitting limited upward movement of said assembly relative to saidseating means when the latter is engaged with said supporting means, theslidable connecting means including means for conducting well fluidsfrom below said seating means to the interior of said assembly, saidconnecting means including valve means for controlling communicationbetween the portions of the well conductor above and below said seatingmeans, the valve means being held closed by the weight of said assemblyand being opened by upward movement of said assembly relative to saidseating means whereby treating fluids injected into the well conductorabove said assembly may flow around said assembly and through said valvemeans into the portion of the conductor below said seating means, thepump rod being tubular and communicating with the interior of saidassembly, said assembly having valve means for controlling communicationbetween its interior and the well conductor, the valve means of saidassembly being cloed during normal reciprocation of one of the membersrelative to the other member of said assembly and being opened upon saidupward movement of said reciprocable member relative to said othermember of said assembly whereby treating fluids may be injected into thewell conductor through said pump rod and assembly.

2. A well pumping and formation treating apparatus as set forth in claim1 wherein the means for conducting well fluids from below the seatingmeans to the interior of the pump assembly includes a tubular memberconnected to said assembly for movement therewith relative to saidseating means, the valve means including a stationary member connectedto said means, the valve means including a stationary member connectedto said seating means and a movable member connected to the tubularmember for movement therewith relative to the stationary member.

3. A well pumping and formation treating apparatus as set forth in claim1 wherein the plunger member is reciprocable relative to the workingbarrel member of the pump assembly, said plunger member being tubularand in communication with the pump rod, the valve means of said assemblyincluding lateral ports in said plunger and working barrel members whichare out of communication during normal reciprocation of said plungermember and in communication upon upward movement of said plunger memberrelative to said working barrel member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,501,237 3/1950 Sanders 103-2042,526,086 10/1950 Sanders 103204 2,764,940 10/1956 Long 103179 X CHARLESE. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner. I. A. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner.

